The Five-Year-Old his Parents didn't Want, Trump's Wealth-Building Revolution & Media makes Violent Offender a Saint Week In Review

Summary

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Verdict with Ted Cruz – Week in Review (January 31, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this week’s episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson review major political and media stories: the disputed “five-year-old detained by ICE” incident, Trump’s new wealth-building “Trump Accounts” policy, and media bias surrounding a Minneapolis violent offender, including AI-manipulated coverage. The tone is unabashedly conservative, focusing on media criticism, the effectiveness of current border security, and the transformative potential of conservative-led economic policy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Five-Year-Old Detained by ICE”: Debunking Media Narratives

• Summary: The pair criticize widespread media reports alleging ICE detained a five-year-old, asserting it was a mischaracterization designed to manipulate public sentiment.
• Ted Cruz clarifies the facts ([03:12]):
  • ICE went to apprehend the father, who ran and abandoned the child.
  • ICE agents found the mother; she allegedly refused to take the boy.
  • The child was never “detained” as a target, but left in ICE’s care out of necessity.
• Media Criticism:
  • Ben Ferguson claims morning network shows did not issue corrections ([06:30]).
  • They argue the story is “entirely about telling a story to pull on people’s heartstrings and to cause suburban voters... to say, ‘Oh, this has gone too far’” (Cruz, [03:52]).
• Political Fallout:
  • Cruz and Ferguson predict upcoming government shutdown efforts will focus on defunding ICE, citing statements from Democratic leaders ([07:23], [10:40]), with Cruz’s blunt prediction: “Yes. 100%. Yes.” ([07:23])
  • The hosts believe these efforts are strategic and coordinated rather than coincidental opposition.

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz: “It’s a total lie. It’s absolutely false... The purpose of that story is not actually factual journalism. It is entirely about telling a story to pull on people’s heartstrings...” ([03:12]–[03:52])
• Ben Ferguson: “Do you think a government shutdown is going to come? Yes or no?” / Cruz: “Yes. 100%. Yes.” ([07:23])
• Cruz: “The Democrats are saying we won’t fund [DHS]. So what will happen? I think there’s a chance we see Congress put together an appropriations package that funds everything but DHS.” ([11:53])

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2. Trump Accounts: A Policy for Wealth-Building

• Summary: The new “Trump accounts” policy, described as a generational wealth accelerator, aims to provide every child with a government-seeded investment account.
• Details and Impact:
  • Cruz: “I think the Trump accounts will be truly transformational... the impact of the Trump accounts is going to echo forward” ([15:57]).
  • Children receive automatic seed money; growth is accelerated by compounding over time.
  • “By age 18, right, you could have $303,000 ... by age 28, it’s more than a million if you do the maximum contributions,” Ferguson relays ([16:53]).
  • Contributions can come from parents, family members, employers, or philanthropists ([17:25], [20:46]).
  • Employers and philanthropists are incentivized to contribute; charities and matching programs from large businesses (e.g., Visa point conversion) are discussed ([18:31]).
  • Michael & Susan Dell, and Brad Gerstner, highlighted for large philanthropic gestures towards funding accounts for low-income children ([20:46]).
  • The policy is credited as a potent new tool for breaking generational poverty and increasing financial literacy and independence from birth ([19:13]).
• Comparison:
  • Cruz likens program to game-changing impact of 401(k)s, suggesting this policy will bring about “trillions of dollars” in new private wealth ([18:31]).

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz: “The impact of the Trump accounts is going to echo forward and the two massive benefits are, number one, every kid in America is going to get the benefit of compound growth. You know, half of the people in America don’t own a single stock and don’t own a single bond.” ([15:57])
• Ben Ferguson: “If you do the maximum contribution... you’re talking about a million $91,900 by age 28. That is unbelievable.” ([20:18])
• Cruz: “Michael Dell has more than $100 billion. If you’re thinking about where to give your money away in philanthropy, there are not a lot of charities that can take amounts that big. This is infinitely scalable.” ([21:49])

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3. Media Portrayal of Violent Offender in Minneapolis

• Summary: Cruz and Ferguson examine coverage of Alex Preddy, an ICU nurse involved in a fatal confrontation with ICE. They charge that media outlets misrepresented Preddy as a peaceful protestor, omitting video evidence of his prior violence towards ICE agents.
• Media Bias Claim:
  • Cruz: “We have seen the corporate media just turn into shameless propagandists...disconnected from facts and reality and they’re trying to mislead people” ([25:24]).
  • They criticize use of “AI enhanced” photos by MSNBC to make Preddy appear more sympathetic ([29:59]–[31:13]).
  • Joe Rogan’s criticism of MSNBC’s image alteration is played ([29:59]), with Rogan noting: “They made him handsome. Yeah. So people would be more sympathetic to him getting shot, which is kind of wild...” ([30:02])
  • Ferguson points out that even after MSNBC admitted the image was AI-enhanced, no one was fired, and there was no on-air apology ([31:48]).
  • Cruz: “Any journalistic outfit with any integrity would fire whoever was responsible, would go on air and apologize and say we violated our integrity... The fact that MSNBC doesn’t think they need to shows just how much the corporate media ... are political liars.” ([31:48])
• Evidence:
  • Video of Preddy spitting at ICE agents, kicking their vehicle, and being armed shared and discussed ([27:09]–[28:15]).
  • Family confirmed Preddy’s actions and identity ([27:45]).
  • Discussion on the risk of violence towards law enforcement leading to forceful outcomes ([28:15]).

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz: "Listen, if you engage in acts of violence directed at law enforcement, there is a very real risk that the response... can be the use of deadly force." ([28:15])
• Joe Rogan (played clip): “Look at the difference. Yeah, look at the difference. They shortened up his face. They gave him a little bit of a tan... They shrunk his nose. Yeah. Gave him a little bit of a handsome jaw.” ([30:02]–[30:41])
• Cruz: “The fact that MSNBC doesn’t think they need to shows just how much the corporate media... are political liars.” ([31:48])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Debunking the ICE “five-year-old” story: [03:12]–[06:30]
• Shutdown predictions & Democratic positioning: [06:30]–[12:37]
• Trump Accounts policy deep-dive: [15:20]–[22:26]
• Media portrayal in Minneapolis / AI image controversy: [24:51]–[33:01]
• Joe Rogan's comments on MSNBC & media manipulation: [29:59]–[31:13]

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Memorable Moments & Tone

The episode is marked by:

• Direct, sometimes combative language toward mainstream media and Democratic leaders.
• Colorful analogies and rhetorical questions to connect with conservative and skeptical listeners.
• Frequent attributions to outside figures (Joe Rogan, Fox News, Michael Dell) for validation.
• Persistent focus on factual counter-narratives and policy “wins” for conservatives.

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Conclusion

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is a robust defense of conservative policy and media skepticism. Cruz and Ferguson work to debunk prominent liberal narratives, advocate for new wealth-building opportunities, and highlight perceived media malpractice, urging their audience to remain vigilant and informed. The rhetoric is forceful, with appeals to facts, realpolitik, and conservative strategy throughout.

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Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.

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[Ted Cruz]

Ilia Malady redefining the sport Friday at.

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8 Eastern, 7pm Central on NBC and.

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

What do you have to lo give.

[Ted Cruz]

It a [e-mail] switch limited time 50.

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[Ben Ferguson]

It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. It's the Weekend Review and here are the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about. First up, the media lied using a five year old boy to slander ICE and Homeland Security agents. So what is the real story? Well, it's not what they told you and we'll have it for you. Also the nitty gritty on the Trump accounts and how it could literally transform America into a different place for young people. This is a major opportunity for so many American families. So how can you get involved in it? We'll explain it as well. And finally, a man that was shot in Minneapolis. They memorialized him in the media as a kind, loving man who was just a do gooder. Well, now more of the story's coming out and that man wasn't so peaceful after all. It's the Weekend Review and it starts right now.

[Ted Cruz]

ICE apprehends five year Old child. That story was everywhere, by the way. It's a total lie. It's absolutely false. In fact, what happened is ICE came to apprehend the father. The father ran off and abandoned the five year old child. And understandably, ICE was not going to leave a five year old child alone on the street in the middle of.

[Ben Ferguson]

Winter, freezing to death outside. Yeah, I mean, they wouldn't leave him alone, period. But the, but the argument that the left has made, I'm like, let me get this straight. You guys want the kid to be left alone, just to wander the streets of a city and be alone? That's insane. And then in the winter when they could freeze to death, that's also insane. They actually found the woman, the mother of the child.

[Ted Cruz]

It is reported they found the mother of the child. They knocked on the door, tried to give the child back to her. She wouldn't take him. She closed the door and said, no, I won't take him. And so look, the purpose of that story is not actually factual journalism. It is entirely about telling a story to pull on people's heartstrings and to cause suburban voters who are not paying close attention to say, oh, this has gone too far. If they're shooting moms and nurses and arresting little kids, clearly it's gone too far. This is a political campaign. And tragically, it's a political campaign that is costing people's lives. But because, look, the political campaign is having some real effect. It, it, it is, it is having effect. You, we saw, you know, John Kasich, speaking of suburban women we saw John Kasich put out a whole video saying, you know, oh, oh, I'm just, I'm hurting so much. We must stop, we must stop arresting illegals. You know, unfortunately, that's the target audience. And in the world of politics, we've got to realize that. We've got to confront the bad stories with stories that are compelling and it's where tone matters. And I would encourage, look, the administration is doing a fantastic job securing the border. Illegal crossings have dropped 99%. It's phenomenal. They're doing a terrific job going and arresting violent criminals, murderers and rapists and gang bangers, which is why we've seen the murder rate drop 20%. We covered that in the last podcast that the murder rate has dropped 20% across the country. That's a massive success. What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they're describing this, that, that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing. That, that we took out a violent terrorist. Hooray. And the problem is, particularly for someone not paying attention, if you're being told this is a mom of three and there's no indication, you know, she's not waving an ISIS flag or doesn't have a suicide vest around her. Yeah, escalating the rhetoric doesn't help and it actually loses credibility. And so I would encourage the administration to be more measured, to recognize the tragedy and to say, we don't want anyone, anyone's lives to be lost and the politicians who are pouring gasoline onto this fire, they need to stop.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I agree with you there. And I also think, look, facts matter. Explaining what happened is very important. The five year old story is a perfect example. All the morning news shows, abc, NBC, cbs, they led with that story and ran it into the ground that morning that a five year old was detained by ICE and they didn't correct that story. Not only is the Democratic Party looking for an opportunity, so is the media. And they now believe that like this civil war and hold this flag up is, you know, and planet is, we as Democrats were willing to shut down the government to defund ice. That's going to be the premise is what I've been told from, from many in the media that I've talked to and some of my friends on the left, they're like, yeah, we're going to shut down. We're justified this time way more than we were last time. Last time we really weren't justified very much in shutting down the government, but we tried it anyway. Now they actually Feel emboldened. Do you think a government shutdown is going to come? Yes OR no?

[Ted Cruz]

Yes. 100%. Yes.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay. And it's going to be tied to this issue, right?

[Ted Cruz]

Yes. Yes, 100%. The last government shutdown, which was the longest government shutdown in US history. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats forced through, really, to show his radical base that he was fighting because he's scared of being primaried by aoc. But they also did it to tee up the issue of healthcare and the cost of health insurance premiums. Mind you, the premiums have skyrocketed because of Obamacare, because of their policy. But they did the shutdown. It was entirely with an eye towards November that they say, look, we fought like crazy on health insurance and the mean Republicans didn't give us what we wanted, which was $50 billion in corporate welfare subsidies to giant health insurance companies, and that's why your health insurance has gone up. Now, that's factually wrong. Uh, but it is a political narrative they're telling here. They are going to tell the narrative, we will not fund ICE under any circumstances and we will shut the government down. And by the way, the media covered for them so much. Their base was so happy with the shutdown. I think they perceive very few downsides to shutting the government down. Now, this shutdown that will happen on January 30th will be. Will likely be smaller than the previous one. And the reason is we funded.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, explain. Explain why. Because does that mean they're being more strategic in how they're doing it? Or explain that.

[Ted Cruz]

Okay, now between the two, we have passed some appropriations bills. So once appropriations bills are passed, those departments are funding so ag, the Department of Agriculture, and so everything that goes through AG is funded. Cjs, Commerce, justice and Science, that is funded. Energy is funded, water is funded. Interior, Environment, Ledge Branch, Military, Construction, and the va, all of those are funded. So the shutdown will not impact any of those. So what would a shutdown impact? It would impact Defense, the Department of War, it would impact the Department of Labor, it would impact hhs, it would impact the Department of Education, it would impact the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. It would impact the sec, the fcc, the independent agencies, and it would impact dhs, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE directly under that. And I think you're going to see the Democrats force a shutdown. And actually, you don't have to take my words for it. Here, let me read for you what what Schumer tweeted out to the world. He said, quote, what's happening in Minnesota is appalling and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill. But because of Republicans refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ice. I will vote no. Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill. If the DHS funding bill is included there he is explicitly, unequivocally threatening a shutdown. I think that's what we're going to see come January.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, he's not the only one. So Elizabeth Warren was responding to another tweet. I want to read it. It was just the tweet she was responding to to give it context. As a reminder, DHS legislation that funds ICE at current levels without policy restrictions is in the Senate, needs 60 votes to pass. Deadline is next Friday. Elizabeth Warren puts that out there with this and she says, quote, I'm a hell no, not a penny more for ice. We should not fund this terror. So she's also jumping on board with this as well. And then there's other senators have come out and, and so this is why I say this isn't a one off, this is clearly a coordinated attack is the best way I can describe it.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, here's Chris Murphy on cnn. Give a listen.

[Ben Ferguson]

Want to ask about what your leader, Chuck Schumer says, that Democrats are going.

[Ted Cruz]

To vote against a government funding package.

[Ben Ferguson]

That is before the Senate soon and it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security.

[Ted Cruz]

How is that going to play out? Well, we can't vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security.

[Ben Ferguson]

We can't fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security center. That's pretty bold words if you ask me. By a senator that clearly is like, hey, we're all on the same page. This is what we're doing now.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, that's the position of every Democrat and understand this is the same position that is abolish ICE and abolish the police. They're saying they're going to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the department that is charged with keeping us safe, with securing our border, with protecting our families. And the Democrats are saying we won't fund it. So what will happen? I think there's a chance we see Congress put together an appropriations package that funds everything but dhs. That, that might be, that might pass. In terms of dhs, I think the Democrats are going to force a shutdown and I think they want it to be extended and in order.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is not a short one, to be clear. You think they want this to be painful? Almost like they're running in the midterms on this issue of ice.

[Ted Cruz]

I think they want to be able to tell their base we are defunding ice. We are abolishing ice. We are against law enforcement. We're with the criminals. That's that's their messaging.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week.

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Friday Kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the opening ceremony from Italy featuring a special performance by Mariah Carey. Celebrate the greatest athletes from around the globe as they come together to go for gold Lipstick Sensational. The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, redefining the Sport Friday at 8 Eastern, 7 Central on NBC and Peacock.

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Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures yo, do you know Ball?

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[Ben Ferguson]

Now on to story number two. All right, Senator, I want to get back to these Trump accounts and let's talk about the nitty gritty of this. When you look at the dollars and the growing of wealth and how this could fundamentally change a country where every child that is in poverty could get out of poverty just by having these accounts and talk about where they could start a small business or be able to pay for college or different things like that, it is truly empowering for an entire generation. What we are now starting with these Trump's accounts, I actually think it's going to be one of the biggest parts of your legacy ever.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I think the Trump accounts will be truly transformational. And I will say it's interesting. I think President Trump initially, when we laid out the idea to him, he liked it. But I think as he's seen more and more what these are gonna do, I think he's really appreciating that these are gonna be a huge part of his legacy. When all of us are dead and buried, people are still gonna. The impact of the Trump accounts is going to echo forward and the two massive benefits are, number one, every kid in America is going to get the benefit of compound growth. You know, half of the people in America don't own a single stock and don't own a single bond. And the impact, well, here, give a listen to Fox News talking about just how much wealth kids can accumulate through these Trump accounts. You kind of touch on this. By age 18, right, you could have $303,000.

[Ben Ferguson]

By age 28, it's more than a million million if you do the maximum contributions. If you give no contributions, you're still shy of $6,000, which ain't nothing. And then $18,000 by age 28.

[Ted Cruz]

You know, President Bush 43 pushed this.

[Ben Ferguson]

Idea about 25 years. I mean, you look at just the political willpower of getting something like this done, it shouldn't take this much. But this was a major fight center that you had to go to war with to get it to happen. And I don't understand why.

[Ted Cruz]

Oh, look, in the tax cut, you were competing with everything else. Everyone else had a priority. And so it was dividing the pie. And it was also, look, this was something new. It was major. Getting it through the Senate parliamentarian was a real challenge, and we fought hard and got it through. And, you know, you look at that math, you know, you're not talking about just the kids of rich people. You're talking about the kids of a single mom who's waiting tables and the math of that. So a little girl born this year, she gets the thousand dollars automatically put in the account. And that can accumulate and grow. But where the real math is, is if their contributions of 5,000 a year, now, those can come from a parent, those can come from a family member, or those can come from an employer. And there are two big accelerants that we wrote into the bill. Number one is the employer piece of it that the employers think about. To give you a sense of the scope and magnitude, think back to when Congress passed section 401k of ERISA. That was decades ago. And I suspect nobody in Congress knew just how fundamentally they were going to change how Americans save for retirement. There are right now more than $12 trillion in 401k accounts. It's massive. And there will be in just a couple of years, trillions of dollars in Trump accounts as well. The volume of it is massive. And one of the things that's a real accelerant is, you know, most big employers match 401k contributions. If you're an employee, they'll. Sometimes employers will contribute directly to 401ks. Other times they'll match if you make a contribution. I think we are gonna see the same thing with Trump accounts, that this is gonna become a standard, a ubiquitous employee benefit that employers will say, we're gonna match your contributions or contribute directly to the Trump accounts that your kids have. A bunch of big employers have already announced they're doing that. Actually, Visa had a very clever thing they announced. They said, you can use your reward points, you can convert them into money and deposit them in your kid's Trump accounts. That's an accelerant to help more dollars get in. And one of the things about compound growth that, you know, is the earlier you invest, the bigger it grows. And that's one of the things that's really powerful is starting. You know, if someone starts saving at age 40 or 50 or 60, you're so far behind. Yeah, they don't have a long enough time horizon for it to really grow into big, big numbers. If you start at age zero, that gives a long time for that growth to compound. That's really powerful. The second accelerant, go back to the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Number that you mentioned and that Fox had There, if you do the maximum contribution, you have a child. Five grand a year.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, like five grand a year. You think about that over, I mean, over 12 years at $60,000 that you put in. But if you keep going, and I'm putting that in perspective to realize, like, this is not a crazy amount of money. If you're disciplined, you're talking about a million $91,900 by age 28. That is unbelievable.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And look, look, 5,000 a year is, is about 100 bucks a week. And, and so that can come from a parent, come from another family member. But, but the other accelerant that's really powerful is we wrote this so that it could accept charitable gifts. So. So, as you know, Michael and Susan dell are giving six and a quarter billion. They're giving $250 to every child under 10 who lives in a zip code where the median income is 150,000 or less. That is a massive contribution. Brad Gerstner, who came up with the idea for the Trump accounts and who was my partner in getting this done, and we worked hand in hand. Brad has announced he's doing the same thing for the state of Indiana. 250 bucks for every kid under five. But it's going to be about $250 million that he's giving. And same thing targeted for kids in zip codes where the median income is 150,000 or less. I think you're gonna see lots of people doing charitable contributions. That is really, really powerful. And it's something President Trump is encouraging. It's something. I'm encouraging every employer to do this. I'm encouraging philanthropists. And by the way, Michael Dell has said he's not done at six and a quarter billion. He's talked about giving a lot more money than that. One of the cool things about this is it's infinitely scalable. So. So Michael Dell has more than $100 billion. If you're thinking about where to give your money away in philanthropy, there are not a lot of charities that can take amounts that big. This is infinitely scalable. And so it has a potential, really, to accelerate the wealth creation for kids as before.

[Ben Ferguson]

If you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the ent.

[Winter Olympics Announcer]

Friday kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the opening ceremony from Italy. Featuring a special performance by Mariah Carey. Celebrate the greatest athletes from around the globe as they come together to go for gold. The opening ceremony of the winter Olympics.

[Ted Cruz]

Ilia Malinu Redefining this Friday at 8.

[Winter Olympics Announcer]

Eastern, 7 Central on NBC and Peacock.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at Public.

[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. All right, center. I want to get into this other story that is the media and the bias. The media and the narrative they've been pushing in Minnesota, specifically with this ICU nurse. They they turn him into a do gooder. We then get a video that comes out showing him attacking ICE agents days before the the the fatal confrontation with ice. And that part seems to be just disappearing from the media's coverage.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, yeah, look, we have seen with the protests and the riots that are unfolding in Minneapolis, we have seen the corporate media just turn into shameless propagandists. And they have a narrative and that narrative is disconnected from facts and reality and they're trying to mislead people. And so we've seen that, We've seen that with the headlines everywhere saying ICE arrested a five year old boy. And people read that and are like, okay, that's crazy. Why are you arresting a five year old? Well, turns out they didn't. It's false. It was a lie. What actually happened is they were there arresting his father who was an illegal immigrant, and the father ran away and abandoned the five year old. And so the five year old is left alone in the cold on the streets of Minneapolis. Of course, ICE didn't just leave the kid there to wander outside. They had to take care of him. And in fact they tried to return him to his mother. His mother said no, wouldn't let him in the house. And so that's an example. Look, another example. The man who was shot in Minneapolis, Mr. Preddy, you're right. The media portrayed him as this peaceful protester, this ICU nurse. And just you saw Democrats saying that ICE are cold blooded murderers. And that's a flat out lie and it's a slander and it is something.

[Ben Ferguson]

You even had one of your colleagues put up a AI picture on the floor of the Senate for goodness sakes. That was not a real picture.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, it is designed to be manipulative and dishonest. And then a couple of days after the shooting, we had a video that the BBC put out that they had gotten Mr. Preddy a couple of weeks earlier. And let's look at the video. For those who are watching this online, let's look at the video real quickly.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, and by the way, for those listening right now on the radio, we'll put this up on social media. But this shows the man spitting in the face of ICE agents kicking the tail out of their car in a full on confrontation. Take a listen and watch. If you're watching online, this is a.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

Moment the news movement filmed on January 13th in Minneapolis showing a man who appears to be Alex Preddy interacting with Federal immigration agents 11 days before border patrol shot and killed him. Our footage was analyzed by the BBC whose facial recognition technology confirmed his identity to a 97% degree of accuracy. Accuracy.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now the video goes longer than that and you can watch it online. But, but I think the Point that so many people understand is they were talking about the accuracy of this video. And, hey, it's almost. We're almost positive attempt. Well, the family is now confirmed that this is actually him doing this. Kicking out the taillight, screaming F you at the ICE agent, spitting at the ICE agents, like, this is a man that wanted a confrontation with law enforcement. He was there for that reason that day and in the day that unfortunately cost him his life.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, that's right. And this was not peaceful protest in the video, as you said, he was spitting at ICE agents, but he also is repeatedly kicking the taillight. He kicks the tail bite out of an suv. I mean, it's a hard kick that he knocks it out. And that was clearly a violent assault, by the way. He has his gun strapped on his waistband while he is attacking law enforcement officers. And the media wanted to convey it as just, you know, he's this peaceful soul. Listen, if you engage in acts of violence directed at law enforcement, there is a very real risk that the response to an act of violence will be the use of force. And in some instances can be the use of deadly force. At any time an American is killed in an interaction with law enforcement. It is tragic, yes. But the media was being deliberately deceptive in falsely portraying him as this peaceful protester, almost like a nun holding a candle by the side of the road. And that's not. He was clearly. And captured on video engaged in violent attacks on law enforcement. And then in terms of propaganda, I gotta say, MSNBC went even further. And rather than me tell you what happened, listen to Joe Rogan. Cause Joe Rogan comments on just how shameful, shamelessly, MSNBC was, was acting as a political propaganda.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. It was wanting you to root for this nurse. Like, wanted to change who he was so that everyone would root for him. Here it is, Joe Rogan. And Joe Rogan also talking about his own experience when. When he was attacked by the media and they changed the color of his skin during COVID Did you see what.

[Joe Rogan]

MSNBC did to his image?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, they were.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

They were. They gussied it up.

[Joe Rogan]

The opposite of what CNN did to me. You know, CNN during the COVID times turned me green, and they made me ugly and look like I was dying. And they made him handsome. Yeah. So people would be more sympathetic to him getting shot, which is kind of wild. Like, are ugly people less valuable to msnbc, less marketable? That is crazy to me. Like, look at the difference. Yeah, look at the difference. They shortened up his face. They gave him a little bit Of a tan. They widened his face a little bit. It seems like they just made him a little handsomer.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

A little hotter.

[Ted Cruz]

They gave him.

[Ben Ferguson]

Gave him a bit of that Chad jaw, didn't they?

[Joe Rogan]

They shrunk his nose a little too, didn't they?

[Public Investing Sponsor]

Yeah, they did.

[Joe Rogan]

They shrunk his nose. Yeah. Gave him a little bit of a handsome jaw. So he looks like.

[Ted Cruz]

And even made him.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

If you look at the shoulders, it.

[Ted Cruz]

Even looks like they, they may have.

[Joe Rogan]

Plumped up the shoulders there a bit. A little bit. Yeah. The one on the right looks like. Looks like he's a little plumper. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They, they changed the tone of the color.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wild.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, they. Look at. They change his teeth, man.

[Ted Cruz]

Communist news look.

[Joe Rogan]

They gave him veneers. Yeah. Look at the difference in his teeth. He's a much more handsome guy like that one on the right is like the handsome brother.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, senator. You want to talk about just straight up propaganda. This dude, they literally made him jacked. They gave him muscles. They changed the color of his scrubs from the picture. They gave him veneers. They even made his beard look a little bit darker and more full. Changed his nose. Like it was like you went to AI and you said, hey, make this guy the most attractive you can. And then we're gonna put that up on the, on, on TV so that somehow people will be rooting for him a little bit more. It's. It's truly amazing that MSNBC did this and they haven't actually technically apologized for it yet. They've got put a statement out there, but that's about it.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Understand there is zero dispute that MSNBC did this. In fact, MSNBC put out a statement. They said, editor's note, Ms. Now swapped out the original thumbnail, thumbnail image for this video. The previous thumbnail image was an AI enhanced image of Alex Predding. So. So they've acknowledged they used AI to significantly change his appearance and to make him markedly better. Better looking. And look, I looked online. As far as I can tell, MSNBC has not apologized. Nobody has been fired. If they are, in fact a news organization, they pretend they are, you fire somebody immediately. Their job is to report the news and report facts. Not only were they not reporting facts, they were lying to their viewers. They were creating a fabricated and false image to change the facts to fit their political narrative. And any, any journalistic outfit with any integrity would fire whoever was responsible, would go on air and apologize and say we violated our integrity. The fact that MSNBC doesn't think they need to shows just how much the corporate media they are political liars. They are not even attempting or pretending to be journalists.

[Ben Ferguson]

As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here on Monday morning.

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[Ted Cruz]

Anyway, it's awesome.

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[Ted Cruz]

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